Monday, November 17, 2008

link-o-rama

Thanksgiving wine picks from The New York Times. What makes a wine "Thanksgiving" appropriate, anyway? Eric Asimov, the paper's wine critic says it's challenging to find wine that can complement such a wide variety of dishes, but isn't that the case with almost any meal? [via the NYT]

A pretty and delicious-sounding fall cocktail, the Northwood #2, made with apple cider, maple syrup, and rum [via BA]

The Chicago Sun-Times has the best meatless Thanksgiving dinner I've read about in awhile. It's from Molly Harrison, the chef at Green Zebra, a well-regarded vegetarian restaurant in Chicago. The menu: mushroom-chestnut cobbler, glazed sweet potatoes, roasted beet salad with oranges and cranberries, and apple crumb pie. Yum.

But even better is her advice. Here are a few smart tips from Harrison we can all use when it comes to Thanksgiving or any dinner party:

-Keep it simple. Don't over-complex your meal; cook simply. Or make it a potluck and ask each guest to bring a dish.

-Use foods in season. For example, don't use strawberries for Thanksgiving. Instead, use apples --they're in their prime. Serve baked apples, apple butter, casseroles with apples, apple pie. Serve fall and winter squash. Simply cut it in half, put it on a tray, add some butter, salt and pepper and roast it in a 350-degree oven for an hour or so. Use beets, root vegetables -- they are very tasty.

-If you find making homemade rolls impossible, bake easy-to-make popovers or even bake refrigerated or frozen rolls or bread.

-Don't sweat it if your dish doesn't look like the picture in the Martha Stewart magazine. Your guests didn't see the photo. Don't bring it up.
[via the Chicago Sun-Times]